Under normal operating conditions, an aircraft flies from one airport to another with the pilot controlling power, airspeed, and vertical climb or descent rates, typically for minimizing fuel consumption and/or time en route. With complete or partial engine failure (loss of all or substantially all engine power), a relatively quick determination must be made of gliding speed, rate of descent, and aircraft configuration to maximize the gliding distance for reaching an emergency landing area or airport. With loss of engine power, there are many other tasks to be performed by the pilot, including contacting air traffic control, monitoring other traffic, determining the reason for loss of engine power, for example, low fuel or mechanical malfunction, and attempting to restart the engine. With so many tasks to perform at once, it is difficult to determine and maintain the proper gliding speed for maximizing gliding distance.
The range which an airplane is able to fly without engines can significantly vary based on pilot ability to adjust airplane speed to given conditions, e.g., head wind/tail wind, vertical air flow, and turbulent weather/calm air. If the pilot has not enough experience with gliding, the incorrect setting of the gliding speed may significantly reduce a distance which the airplane may reach. This limits the glide area where the pilot can select a field for emergency landing.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a system and method for determining an aircraft gliding speed for maximizing gliding distance during loss of engine power. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the exemplary embodiments will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.